J. Walter Fewkes - Contribution to Passamaquoddy Folk Lore
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J. Walter Fewkes >> Contribution to Passamaquoddy Folk Lore
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The symbol [)] followed by a vowel represents a breve.
Hemenway Southwestern Archaeological Expedition
CONTRIBUTION TO PASSAMAQUODDY FOLK-LORE
by
J. WALTER FEWKES
Reprinted from the Journal of American Folk-Lore,
October-December, 1890
A CONTRIBUTION TO PASSAMAQUODDY FOLK-LORE.
The study of aboriginal folk-lore cannot reach its highest scientific
value until some method is adopted by means of which an accurate
record of the stories can be obtained and preserved. In observations
on the traditions of the Indian tribes, the tendency of the listener
to add his own thoughts or interpretations is very great. Moreover, no
two Indians tell the same story alike. These are sources of error
which cannot be eliminated, but by giving the exact words of the
speaker it is possible to do away with the errors of the translator.
I believe that the memory of Indians for the details of a story is
often better than that of white men. There may be a reason for this,
in their custom of memorizing their rituals, stories, and legends. The
K[=a]klan, a Zuni ritual, for instance, which is recited by the priest
once in four years, takes several hours to repeat. What white man can
repeat from memory a history of equal length after so long an
interval?
Phonetic methods of recording Indian languages are not wholly
satisfactory. It is very unlikely that two persons will adopt the same
spelling of a word never heard before. Many inflections, accents, and
gutturals of Indian languages are difficult to reduce to writing.
Conventional signs and additional letters have been employed for this
purpose, the use of which is open to objections. There is need of some
accurate method by which observations can be recorded. The
difficulties besetting the path of the linguist can be in a measure
obviated by the employment of the phonograph, by the aid of which the
languages of our aborigines can be permanently perpetuated. As a means
of preserving the songs and tales of races which are fast becoming
extinct, it is, I believe, destined to play an important part in
future researches.
In order to make experiments, with a view of employing this means of
record among the less civilized Indians of New Mexico,[1] I visited,
in the month of April, the Passamaquoddies, the purest blooded race of
Indians now living in New England. The results obtained fully
satisfied my expectations. For whatever success I have had, I must
express my obligation to Mrs. W. Wallace Brown, of Calais, Me., whose
influence over the Indians is equalled by her love for the study of
their traditions.
[Footnote 1: This work was undertaken as a preparation for similar
observation in connection with the Hemenway Archaeological Expedition.
I am indebted to Mrs. Mary Hemenway, of Boston, for opportunities to
make these observations.]
The songs and stories were taken from the Indians themselves, on the
wax cylinders of the phonograph. In most cases a single cylinder
sufficed, although in others one story occupied several cylinders.
None of the songs required more than one cylinder.
I was particularly anxious to secure the songs. The Passamaquoddies
agree in the statement that their stories were formerly sung, and
resembled poems. Many tales still contain songs, and some possess at
this day a rhythmical character. I am not aware that any one has tried
to set the songs to music, and have had nothing to guide me on that
head.
In sacred observances it is probable that the music of the songs
preserves its character even after other parts have been greatly
modified, while the song retains its peculiarity as long as it
continues to be sung. The paraphernalia of the sacred dance may be
modified, as in the case of many New Mexican pueblos, into church
festivals, but the songs must remain unchanged until superseded. It is
noteworthy in this connection that in many of the songs archaic words
occur.
The following list indicates the variety of records which were made:--
1-3. The story of how Glooscap reduced the size of the
animals. These cylinders give the story in substantially the
same way as published by Leland in his "Algonquin Legends."
4. A collection of Indian words corresponding with those
found on page 82 of the schedule of the United States Bureau
of Ethnology.
5. English words with Passamaquoddy translations.
6, 7. An old tale of how Pookjinsquess stole a child.
8. Song of the "Snake Dance."
9. "War Song."
10. Song sung on the night when the governor's election is
celebrated. This song was sung by proxy, and contains
compliments to the feast, thanks to the people for election,
and words of praise to the retiring chief. It is a very old
song, unknown to many of the younger Indians.
11. Numerals from 1 to 20; the days of the week; also, a
"counting-out" rhyme.
12-14. Tale of Leux and the three fires.
15. Tale of Leux and Hespens.
17. An ancient war song, said to have been sung in the old
times when the Passamaquoddies were departing for war with
the Mohawks. A second part contains a song said to have been
sung in the "Trade Dance," as described below.
18. War Song.
19. Pronunciation of the names of the fabulous personages
mentioned in Passamaquoddy stories.
20-22. Story of the birth of a medicine-man who turned man
into a cedar tree.
23. An ordinary conversation between the two Indians, Noel
Josephs and Peter Selmore.
24-27. Modern Passamaquoddy story, introducing many
incidents of ordinary life.
29-35. Story of Pogump and the Sable, and of their killing a
great snake. How the former was left on an island by
Pookjinsquess, and how the Morning Star saved him from
Quahbet, the giant beaver.[2]
[Footnote 2: I have given below English versions of these, or the
Indian stories told in English.]
It appears to me that the selections above given convey an idea of
some of the more important linguistic features of the Passamaquoddy
language, but it is needless to reiterate that these results and
observations are merely experimental. In another place I hope to
reproduce the stories in the original, by phonetic methods. I have
here given English versions of some of the stories recorded, as
translated for me by the narrator, or by Mrs. Brown, and added some
explanations which may be of assistance to a person listening when
songs or stories are being rendered on the phonograph.
The majority of the remnants of the Passamaquoddy tribe are found in
three settlements in the State of Maine,--one at Pleasant Point, near
Eastport; another at Peter Dana's Point, near Princeton; and a third
at a small settlement called The Camps, on the border of the city of
Calais.
The manners and customs of this people are fast dying out. The old
pointed caps, ornamented with beads, and the silver disks, which they
once wore, are now rarely seen except in collections of curiosities.
The old games, dances, and songs are fast becoming extinct, and the
Passamaquoddy has lost almost everything which characterized his
fathers.
There still remain among the Passamaquoddies certain nicknames borne
by persons of the tribe. These nicknames are sometimes the names of
animals, and in older times were more numerous than at present.
Possibly these names are the survivals of the gentile or clan name
once universal among them as among other Indian tribes.
I spent several days at Calais, while collecting traditions with the
phonograph, and also visited Pleasant Point, where I made the
acquaintance of some of the most prominent Indians, including the
governor. Most of them speak English very well, and are ready to grant
their assistance in preserving their old stories and customs. The
younger members of the tribe are able to read and write, and are
acquainted with the ordinary branches of knowledge as taught in our
common schools. I should judge from my own observations that the
language is rapidly dying out. The white women who have married into
the tribe have generally acquired the language more or less perfectly.
In their intercourse with each other, Indians make use of their own
language.
In taking these records with the phonograph I had an interesting
experience. The first time I met Noel Josephs, I greeted him after the
Zuni fashion. I raised my hand to his mouth, and inhaled from it. He
followed in identically the same manner in which a Zuni Indian would
respond. I asked him what it meant. He said that it was a way of
showing friendship. He remembered that, when he was a boy, a similar
mode of greeting was common among Indians.[3] Mrs. Brown recalled
having seen a similar ceremony after she was received into the tribe.
The meaning of this similarity I leave to others to conjecture.
In a legend mentioned by Mrs. Brown concerning a game of
"All-tes-teg-enuk," played by a youth against an old man, the latter,
who has magic power, has several times regained his youth by inhaling
the breath of his young opponent.[4]
[Footnote 3: My surprise at this coincidence was very great, but I
confess that I was also interested to hear from the lips of my Indian
friend, at parting, the familiar Italian word, "Addio."]
[Footnote 4: _Some Indoor and Outdoor Games of the Wabanaki Indians_,
Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Section II. 1889.]
THE SNAKE DANCE.
The Passamaquoddies, no doubt, in old times, had many dances, sacred
and secular. Some of these were very different from what they now are,
and in consequence it is not easy to recognize their meaning. Indians
declare that in their youth dances were much more common. Possibly
some of these will never be danced again. That the Micmacs, neighbors
of the Passamaquoddies, had dances in which elaborate masks were worn,
seems to be indicated by pictographs found on the rocks in Nova
Scotia. Mrs. Brown has in her possession a head-band made of silver,
similar to those worn in ancient times on festive occasions, and
probably at dances. It was not necessarily a badge of a chief. In
excavations made at East Machias, an Indian was found with a copper
head-band and the remnant of a woven tiara. These relics are now in
the hands of Dr. Shehan, of Edmunds, Maine. Copper head-bands have
repeatedly been found on the skulls of Mound Indians. When a boy, I
myself was present at the work of excavating an Indian burial place on
the banks of Charles River, near the end of Maple Street, Watertown.
With one of these skeletons a turtle shell was found, which was
possibly an old Indian rattle.
One of the most interesting of the selections mentioned is the Song of
the Snake Dance, No. 8. Although the ceremonial element has now
disappeared from this song, it may be presumed that it originally had
a religious importance similar to that of the Snake Dances of the
Southwest, since the extent of the worship of the snake among North
American Indians is known. The same dance is also celebrated by the
Micmacs, having been performed by them during the past year. In both
nations, it is generally united with other dances, and seems to be an
appendage to the more formal ones.
The general impression among the Passamaquoddies is that this dance
never had a sacred character. The name is said to have been derived
from the sinuous course of the chain of dancers, and from its
resemblance to the motion of a snake. While there is nothing to prove
that it is a remnant of an ancient snake worship, still it is natural
to presume that such is really the case. There are several tales
relating to the manner in which men were turned into rattlesnakes, and
how the noise of the rattlesnakes has its lineal descendant in the
rattles of the dancers. The Indians told me of several songs used for
snake dances, but in those which were sung I think I detected the same
music, and am confident that the words as given occur in most of them.
The discord at the end of the first line is also a feature of the
snake dances which I have heard.[5]
[Footnote 5: I myself have never witnessed the snake-dance. The
description which follows was obtained from Mrs. Brown, who has seen
it performed twice, as well as from Peter Selmore, Noel Josephs, and
other Indians who have frequently taken part in it. The song was
recorded on the phonograph from the lips of Josephs, who is recognized
by the Indians themselves as one competent to sing the song. Josephs
told me that he remembered when this and other dances took place in a
large wigwam made of bark.]
The dance is performed at weddings and other festive occasions. It is
not used alone, but only with others, and, as I am told, is employed
at all times of festival.
SNAKE SONG.
The words of the first strain are as follows:--
W[)a]y' ho y[=a]rhnie, way ho y[=a]rhnie.
The words of the second strain are as follows:--
Hew nay ie h[=a]h, hew n[)a]'y ie h[=a]h, hew n[)a]'y ie h[=a]h,
Hew nay ie h[=a]h, hew nay ie h[=a]h, hew nay ie h[=a]h.
When the strain changes from the first to the second, the words _ho
yar'h nie_ become a discord like _noy[=a]h_.
The first part of the song is sung alone, by the conjurer, as he moves
about the room in search of the snake. In the second part all in the
chain of dancers join in with him in the song. The description of the
song in Passamaquoddy, including the invitation to take part in the
dance, is given on the first part of the cylinder. Calls to the
assembly to join in the dance are interpolated in the second strain.
[Music illustration:
Way ho yah-nie, way ho yahnie, way ho yahnie, way ho yahnie, way ho
yah-nie, way ho-yah.
Hew na-yie hah, hew na-yie hah, hew nayie hah, hew nayie hah, hew
nayie hah.]
The leader or singer, whom we may call the master of the ceremony,
begins the dance by moving about the room in a stooping posture,
shaking in his hand a rattle made of horn, beating the ground
violently with one foot. He peers into every corner of the room,
either seeking the snake or inciting the on-lookers to take part,
meanwhile singing the first part of the song recorded on the
phonograph. Then he goes to the middle of the room, and, calling out
one after another of the auditors, seizes his hands. The two
participants dance round the room together. Then another person grasps
the hands of the first, and others join until there is a continuous
line of men and women, alternate members of the chain facing in
opposite directions, and all grasping each other's hands. The chain
then coils back and forth and round the room, and at last forms a
closely pressed spiral, tightly coiled together, with the leader in
the middle. At first the dancers have their bodies bent over in a
stooping attitude, but as the dance goes on and the excitement
increases they rise to an erect posture, especially as near the end
they coil around the leader with the horn rattles, who is concealed
from sight by the dancers. They call on the spectators to follow them,
with loud calls mingled with the music: these cries now become louder
and more boisterous, and the coil rapidly unwinds, moving more and
more quickly, until some one of the dancers, being unable to keep up,
slips and falls. Then the chain is broken, and all, with loud shouts,
often dripping with perspiration, return to their seats.[6]
[Footnote 6: The last part of this dance somewhat resembles a play
among boys, known as "Snap the whip."]
In this dance all present take part; it always occurs at the end of
the Passamaquoddy dances, though it may be followed by a dance of the
Micmacs, or other foreign Indians. There was, when last presented, no
special dress adopted for the snake-dance, and the horn rattle is used
also in other dances. It seems probable that everything used in the
old times has disappeared, with the exception perhaps of the
last-named implement, yet the song resembles closely that of the olden
time. The invitations to dance are possibly introduced, and the
boisterous finale may be of modern date. There is recorded also on the
phonograph, with the song, the invitation to the dance in the
Passamaquoddy language. An invitation is extended to all to come to
the dance. It is a proclamation that there will be a good time, much
to eat, "Indian dances," snake dance, and Micmac dances. The shell of
the turtle was used in old times for a rattle, in place of the horn,
and in a story of the origin of the rattlesnake the conqueror is said
to use a rattle of this kind. In the Zuni dances, and in the Moqui
snake-dance, a turtle rattle is tied to the inside of the left leg.
The rattle, carried in the hand by the Moqui snake dancer, is a gourd,
but the Passamaquoddies seem to find the horn better adapted for their
purpose. The almost universal use of the rattle among the Indians in
their sacred dances is very significant. The meaning of the snake song
is unknown to the Indians who sing it. The words are probably either
archaic or remnants of a sacred language or mystic words of an
esoteric priesthood.
The Indian dances held in honor of the chief (governor) and other
officers continued for several days. On the first night the newly
elected chief sang a song complimentary to the food, thanking the
tribe, greeting the past governor, etc. Noel Josephs, at the last
celebration, sang this song by proxy, as the newly elected chief could
not sing. When sung by proxy, the song is called by another name than
when sung by the person elected. This song is preserved on one of the
cylinders.
TRADE DANCE.
I have been told that there is an old custom among the Micmacs, still
remembered by many now alive, which is probably a remnant of a
ceremony with which was connected an old dance. To this custom is
given the name of the "Trade Dance," for reasons which will appear.
The account of the custom was given by Peter Selmore, who witnessed it
not many years ago. It is said to be more common among the Micmacs
than among the Passamaquoddies.
The participants, one or more in number, go to the wigwam of another
person, and when near the entrance sing a song. The leader then
enters, and, dancing about, sings at the same time a continuation of
the song he sang at the door of the hut. He then points out some
object in the room which he wants to buy, and offers a price for it.
The owner is obliged to sell the object pointed out, or to barter
something of equal value. The narrator remembers that the dress of the
participants was similar to that of the Indians of olden times. He
remembers, in the case of women, that they wore the variegated,
pointed cap covered with beads, the loose robe, and leggings. The face
of the participant was painted, or daubed black with paint or powder.
This song is recorded on cylinder 17.
The singer told me, and I can well believe it, that the song is very
ancient. I have little doubt that in this ceremony we have a survival
of dances of the olden times, when they assumed a significance now
either wholly lost or greatly modified.
It is not without probability that the songs sung as ancient songs may
have modern strains in them, but as a general thing I think we can say
that they are authentic. I do not think I draw on my imagination when
I say that one can detect a general character in them which recalls
that of Western Indians. In order to experiment on this, I submitted
the records to a person who had heard the songs of the Plain Indians,
and who did not know whether the song which she heard from the
phonograph was to be Indian or English. She immediately told me
correctly in all cases which was the Indian, although she had never
before heard the Passamaquoddy songs.
The folk stories of the Passamaquoddies are but little known to the
young boys and girls of the tribe. It is mostly from the old and
middle-aged persons that these stories can be obtained. I was told by
one of these story-tellers that it was customary, when he was a boy,
for the squaws to reward them for collecting wood or other duties with
stories. A circle gathered about the fire after work, and listened for
hours to these ancient stories, fragments no doubt of an ancient
mythology, upon which possibly had been grafted new incidents derived
by the Indians from their intercourse with the various Europeans with
whom they had been brought in contact.
WAR SONGS.
I succeeded in getting upon the phonograph several war songs, typical
of a large number known to the Passamaquoddies. The words of many are
improvised, though there is no doubt that the tunes are ancient. The
words of one of these songs are given below.
I will arise with tomahawk in my hand, and I must have
revenge on that nation which has slain my poor people. I
arise with war club in my hand, and follow the bloody track
of that nation which killed my people. I will sacrifice my
own life and the lives of my warriors. I arise with war club
in my hand, and follow the track of my enemy. When I
overtake him I will take his scalp and string it on a long
pole, and I will stick it in the ground, and my warriors
will dance around it for many days; then I will sing my song
for the victory over my enemy.
"M' TOULIN."
Passamaquoddy Indians are believers in a power by which a song, sung
in one place, can be heard in another many miles away. This power is
thought to be due to _m' toulin_, or magic, which plays an important
part in their belief. Several instances were told me, and others have
published similar observations. Leland, in his "Algonquin Legends of
New England," pp. 517, 518, gives a weird account of an Indian who was
so affected by _m' toulin_ that he left his home and travelled north
to find a cold place. Although lightly clad and bare-footed, he
complained that it was too hot for him, and hastened away to find a
climate more congenial to his tastes. In this account one is led to
believe that the man was insane, and that to the Indian insanity is
simply the result of _m' toulin_.
THE ORIGIN OF THE THUNDER-BIRD.
In a very interesting paper of A.F. Chamberlain, on "The Thunder-Bird
among the Algonquins," in the "American Anthropologist," January,
1890, reference is made to the belief in this being among the
Passamaquoddy Indians. On my recent visit to Calais I obtained from
Peter Selmore a story of the origin of the Thunder-Bird, which is
different from any mentioned by Leland. This story, I regret to say, I
was unable to get on the phonograph.
A story of the old times.[7] Two men desired to find the origin of
thunder. They set out and travelled north, and came to high mountains.
These mountains drew back and forth, and then closed together very
quickly. One of the men said to the other, "I will leap through the
cleft when it opens, and if I am caught you can follow and try to find
the origin of thunder." The first one passed through the cleft before
it closed, and the second one was caught. The one that went through
saw, in a large plain below, a group of wigwams, and a number of
Indians playing ball. After a little while these players said to each
other, "It is time to go." They went to their wigwams and put on
wings, and took their bows and arrows and flew away over the mountains
to the south. The old men said to the Indian, "What do you want? Who
are you?" He told his mission, and they deliberated what to do.
Finally they took him and put him in a mortar and pounded him up so
that all his bones were broken. Then they took him out and gave him
wings and a bow and arrows, and sent him away. They told him he must
not go near the trees, for if he did he would go so fast that he could
not stop, but would get caught in the crotch of a tree.
[Footnote 7: The Zuni folk-tales always begin with a similar
introduction, which may be translated, "In the time of the ancients."
The Passamaquoddies often end a story by the words which, being
translated, mean "this is the end." The same occurs in other Indian
stories.]
He could not get to his home because the bird Wochowsen blew so hard
that he could make no progress against it. As the Thunder-Bird is an
Indian, the lightning from him never strikes one of his kind.[8]
[Footnote 8: The wind (Wochowsen) is represented as resisting the
Thunder-Bird. According to Chamberlain and Leland, "thunder beings are
always trying to kill a big bird in the south." It is said by the
Passamaquoddies that Wochowsen is the great bird which overspreads all
with his wings and darkens the sky. Often when he passes by, the glare
of the bright sun is ample to blind them.]
This is the same bird one of whose wings Glooscap once cut when it had
used too much force. There was for a long time, the story goes, no
moving air, so that the sea became full of slime, and all the fish
died. But Glooscap is said to have repaired the wing of Wochowsen, so
that we now have wind alternating with calm.